Battle of Narva (1944)

The Battle of Narva (2 February-10 August 1944) was a battle fought between the Soviet Leningrad Front and the German (and Estonian auxiliary) defenders of Leningrad during World War II.

As a continuation of the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive of January 1944, the Red Army pushed the front westward to the Narva River, aiming to destroy the German detachment "Narwa" and to thrust deep into Estonia. The Soviets established a number of bridgeheads on the western bank of the river in February, while the Germans maintained a bridgehead on the east. The Soviets failed to acquire more bridgeheads, while the Germans launched counterattacks that eliminated the bridgeheads to the north of Narva.

The front was stabilized until July 1944, when the Soviets launched a renewed offensive against the city. The remnants of Army Group North withdrew to the Tannenberg Line 9.9 miles from Narva as a result of Operation Bagration. Soviet shock troops from the Finnish front were concentrated near Narva, giving the Leningrad Front a 4:1 superiority both in manpower and equipment. The Soviet 8th Army's assault on the Auvere Railway was repulsed by the 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS and a German infantry regiment, inflicting heavy losses on the Soviets. The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland and the 4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Nederland stationed in Ivangorod left their positions the night before 25 July. The 2nd Shock Army resumed the offensive that morning, supported by 280,000 shells and grenades from 1,360 assault guns, and it crossed the river north of the town. The Germans conducted a fighting retreat, and the Soviets captured Narva on 26 July. Nevertheless, Stalin's goal of quickly recovering Estonia as a base for air and seaborne attacks against Finland and an invasion of East Prussia, was not achieved, and the Soviet war effort in the Baltics was hampered for seven and a half months.